Paradise in Winter
by Dark days. Lightning nights
Summary: She folded her hands, breaking off the cold breeze. And let out a heavy breath though her mouth, causing a little fog in the air. "Yes?" She asked, in her sweet sugary voice, looking up straight in his eyes. The fact that her height was a bit smaller than him, crossed her mind, but she ignored it. "Sorry if I disturbed you." He said, in his ringing voice. ScoRose! R&R!
1. They met

A/N- _Its gonna be a chapter every week. Please review, that gives free happiness to me :)_

 _Leave a review if you like it or even if you don't, or with any suggestions or even to point my mistakes out. Would be pleased to hear from you guys._

She gently placed her hand on the doorknob. Her fingers wrapped around it, twisted it and pulled the door to herself, revealing the unexpected guest on her house door.

There was a man who was looking back at a figure out of her eye vision. He turned around at the sound of opening of the door.

His features were sharp and had a cold look on his face. His messy blond hair falling over his forehead, as his hair had a bit of snow in it. His pale cheeks flushed due to the downfall in temperature. He was wearing a white shirt, with sleeves folded up, showing his pale wrist and his shiny silver watch. A velvet tie hanging lose around his neck, with black shoes that gave him an official outlook. His grey metallic eyes met her sapphire ones, and he took in the skinny figure standing in front of him.

Her red hair bundled roughly in a high pony, with checks flushing as red as her hair, due to sudden cold winds falling over them. She wore a grey top which reached to her palms, and navy colored, skinny jeans which hugged her legs tightly. The thing that caught his eyes was her footwear, which were simple with no art but puffy, white fur.

She folded her hands, breaking off the cold breeze. And let out a heavy breath though her mouth, causing a little fog in the air.

"Yes?" She asked, in her sweet sugary voice, looking up straight in his eyes.

The fact that her height was a bit smaller than him, crossed her mind, but she ignored it.

"Sorry if I disturbed you." He said, in his ringing voice.

"Err... It's alright. I am sorry, but just out of curiosity, aren't you cold? It's snowing, you know..." She added, a bit hesitant but nevertheless, asked it.

"I grew up in a place where it snowed every month, so it's not really a big deal for me." He answered, with a smile running across his features.

"Actually, my friend here wants to speak to your roommate." He added, with a coy smile.

She looked over his shoulder, a black haired boy was pacing around, nervously. She immediately recognised him, he was her cousin, Albus Severus Potter. Her arms opened, unconsciously.

"Al?" She called, at which the boy stopped dead in his tracks and looked at her.

He recognised her and went over to her and stood beside his blond friend.

"Hey! Can I talk to Johanna?" He said nervously to his cousin.

"No, you can't. You break her poor heart by your stupidity and now I won't let you be near her, ever again." She replied, again folding her arms, but this time to show her disapproval.

"I was drunk! Come on! You know me, I never cheat on my girlfriends." He said, now panicking that his own cousin won't understand, so how would he convince his girlfriend.

Albus Potter and Johanna Brown were co-workers, and that's where their story began. They became good friends and got to know each other, in late night shifts. And soon, got together. It had been only two or three months, when he screwed it all up. Albus went to a bar party, with his all guy friends. And there he got drunk, pretty bad.

Johanna went to his place, after work. It was pretty late, so she assumed he maybe asleep, and hence, used the spare key to get herself in. And when she went inside, she saw him in the bed with another girl. She fumed and screamed at him, and came home crying and snobbing.

"But you did. Al, really, just go away or I won't think twice before punching you." She said fuming with anger.

Albus shook his head and continued, ignoring what his cousin said.

"Look it wasn't as it seemed! I wasn't cheating! It was Domique! She came over, while I was drunk and made me a potion that made be sobber again, and lectured me with other drinking shit! She then said that she was there cause we had a plan, which I forgot, to see a movie! We were watching this really horror movie and I have no idea when I fell asleep! I was woken up with Jo screaming and crying! And then my head was spinning and I fainted! Today, there I woke up to see a note by Dom, telling what happened! God! Domique is my cousin, for crying out loud! Please let me tell her that!" He ranted.

She looked confused with the rant which his cousin said. And when she understood, she started laughing.

The blond joined her, which angered Albus, who pushed his cousin aside and went inside to his girlfriend.

"Finally found someone who gets the humour in this!" Said the blond between his laughs.

"Albus has the worst timing ever!" She said, laughing along.

She was happy for her friend too. She knew, Johanna really liked her cousin, and it would have broken her if it had been something else.

They soon stopped laughing and inhaled heavily.

She coughed and stretched her hand out to him, offering a hand shake, which he took.

"I am Rose Weasley." She said, smiling.

"Good, to finally meet you. I am Scorpius Malfoy." He replied, grinning all the way.

 **A/N-** _Sorry for any spelling or grammatical error, I wrote it on my phone. Next one is gonna be longer than this one, surely. And any guesses as to where you think this story may lead? What do you think of Al's character? And Johanna Brown?_

 _R &R!_


	2. They talked

A/N- First things first, I want to thank **BeanerWeasley** for helping me out with this story, and for the review! :)

She is a awesome writer and all of you should read her beautiful stories!

Happy Reading!

* * *

"How come we never met at Hogwarts?" He asked, sitting down at the chair opposite to her.

Scorpius Malfoy was walking down the streets of Diagon Alley on a Sunday afternoon as he bumped into his new friend, Rose Weasley.

They decided to have a cup of coffee before they split up, on their own ways and went to an open 'coffee and tea' shop, where they could see people pass by.

He knew that she was a front seat student with O's in every subject, who stayed up late in libraries, between books. While he was a backbencher, who would stay up late for secret parties, with Albus Potter. So, it wouldn't be surprise if their paths never crossed. But they had met before, if she was the short tempered prefect who once saw him sneaking into a party and gave him detention. But that's all he could remember, as he was not really in a state to notice things as he was pretty drunk. If it wasn't her, then yes, they hadn't met in Hogwarts, officially. Of course he knew her, as Al talked a lot about her and she was a shining light in Hogwarts that none could ignore, but they never talked.

"Umm... Hogwarts is a big school, you can't know everyone, can you?" said the red-head, looking at a small girl begging and screaming at her father, so he would take her to the book store that was all the way down the street. But her father seemed to have other plans. He looked highly exhausted and tired, and was holding a small baby in his arms, while the girl tried to drag him to the store.

Rose smiled at the pair, as they reminded her of her father. She did something pretty much same when she was eight. But she was twenty three now. She could no longer drag her father, or cry stubbornly for something she wanted.

Scorpius traced her gaze and turned to see the father and daughter, and looked back at Rose, who was looking deeply at them. Scorpius could see a strange face on her face and a smile, so unique that it was as if it showed pure love.

She brought her focus back to Scorpius, just to find that he was looking at her, oddly. His head was little tilted, eyes piercing though her, a small smile on his lips.

"What?" she exclaimed and looked away, embarrassed by the look he had on his face.

She called a waiter, and asked for two coffees, and gave a little description of the amounts she would like of everything. The waiter noted it and went, saying it would be up in five minutes. Scorpius made a mental note to himself, 'She is foody. Cool.'

"Yeah, so what do you do for a living?" asked the curious, know-it-all.

"I work in the Ministry. The Crime and Investigating Department, to be precise," he said, now picking up a little official tone.

"Ooh. You are somewhat like Sherlock Holmes. Walking around knowing things about people, what even they don't know, huh?" she asked in a childish way.

"Well, kind of. Look, now I know you read muggle novels," he said, smirking at her. "Actually, my boss made me go through all the Investigation files of past three years, to keep me 'updated'. So, yeah, I know a lot about people who I haven't seen yet," he said with a laugh, quoting the word 'updated' with his fingers.

"Ouch. Three years? Either you love your job or your boss is highly cruel," she said, smiling.

"Ummm, it's kind of both," he said, looking at something over her shoulder.

A waitress came from behind Scorpius, holding a tray with two mugs on it. She placed the mugs in front of them and asked if they wanted anything else, which they denied with a thank you. She went over to another table, who just called her for a napkin.

The strong smell of coffee filled the air. They each took a deep breath and melted at the sharp chocolate smell of coffee, and both grabbed their mugs.

"So, where do you work?" he asked, taking a sip from his coffee. Rose imitated him, and answered, "I work at St. Mungo's, as a Junior Healer. But I would soon get a promotion, next year, in which I would get my own cabin, with name plate on the door, and everything! So, yeah, I am really excited." She circled the edge of the coffee mug with her middle finger. "Plus, I would get to have my own patients and not the cases I am forced by Head Healers," she continued, while taking another sip from her coffee.

"So, you don't get to choose cases?" Scorpius asked, getting curious about the new facts he just learned.

"Scorpius, these are people. You can't refuse your boss to save a life, because you don't wanna get your hands bloody, can you?" she said, looking straight in his eyes, holding the eye contact.

"Of course not!" he exclaimed, scared at the very thought.

"Plus, then I won't get to choose cases but patients will come directly to me!" she exclaimed.

This confused Scorpius, as to what's the difference between patients coming though Head Healers and directly to her. She gets new, unexpected cases, anyway! But he let her have the moment and let it go. He thought it must be something that only other healers could understand.

"Well, I remember Jo at Hogwarts, a bit. Wasn't she the one who fought with Professor Slughorn, that what he did was discrimination? You know, inviting people to special partiesjust because they have contacts?" he asked, smirking at the memory.

"Oh! Yes, it was. My father says it's his old habit. Plus his parties were so boring, I always made some excuse to get myself out," she replied, smiling at her own memories and took last gulp of her coffee. She pushed the mug forward, as a gesture for showing she is done.

He copied her, and cleaned his mouth with a napkin.

"I guess I should go. Jo is waiting for me; I was supposed to bring her these muffins and cookies," she said, standing up from her chair, as Scorpius followed her suit. "Don't ask. It's for a bet," she added before Scorpius could say anything on the topic.

"Ok, bye! Hope to see you soon!" he said and waved his hand, as he disappeared into the crowd. Rose mumbled a small bye and went over to the dessert shop for tasty treat.

She bought them, and apparated back to home to find the house empty.

There was a note on the dining table that had Johanna's writing over it.

It said:

"Hey, Rose! Sorry, but had an urgent call from office. Need to rush. Would return late. Around seven, maybe. Don't wait for me, have lunch. And don't eat my muffins!

-Jo"

Rose scowled at the note.

Johanna and Albus worked for the Daily Prophet. They were usually called, even on weekends these weeks, as there had been some kind of major breakdown in their office since someone tried to sue them.

Rose read it and went over to lie on the sofa, in the lobby. She hit the sofa hardly, smiling to herself as she opened the cookie packet.

"Not gonna eat muffins," she muttered to herself, and grabbed a book from the table in front of the sofa, called 'How To Be Patient With Patients'.

She was slowly drifting off to sleep, as the doorbell rang. She awoke haphazardly and the book slipped from her hands, hitting the floor with a huge thump. She picked the book up and placed it on the table, rubbing her eyes. She went over to the door and peeped though the eye hole, just to find Scorpius Malfoy's impatient face. She opened the door, and gave him a genuine smile.

"Is Al here?" He asked, a rush in his voice.

"No, but he must have gone to office, I got a note from Jo saying it could be late," she told him.

"They got that late night work again, didn't they?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. What's wrong?" she asked, pushing a strand of hair behind her ears. She found it adorable, to see him care for his friend.

"He hates working late. I guess it's all for Jo that he is still working there. But you won't tell Jo that, will you?" he added.

"Course not!" She exclaimed.

He smiled and she smiled back, until she realised she was being awkward.

"Why don't you come in? I got a horror movie here with me! Plus I guess as our friends just ditched us, why don't we merge the two lonely parties? I mean, if it's okay with you!" she added, nervously.

Why am I nervous!? she thought to herself.

"I think... It's a great idea!" he said, at first a bit unsure, then finally giving up.

He entered, and Rose closed the door behind him. The place was very messy, considering two girls lived there.

"Sorry, the place is a bit messy. We are always busy on working days, and get very little time for cleaning on weekends," she said, feeling embarrassed by the uncleanliness of her apartment.

They made their way to the couch, and she brought drinks in two wine glasses. She opened the muggle TV and set the movie, which Al watched with Dominique. But for the next three hours, they barely watched the movie, as they didn't find it either too horror or too interesting for their taste. And for the rest of the time, talked. They talked about a lot of things, and discovered new facts about each other.

Soon the credits started rolling, and Rose picked the remote and switched the thing off.

"That was supposed to be horror!? For who, kindergarten kids!? Even they won't frighten!" Rose said, exaggerating a bit.

"Well... Al did, right? It's the movie he watched with his cousin, isn't it? And he said, 'It was a really scary movie'!" Scorpius said, smirking.

Rose burst out laughing.

"He is never gonna hear the end of this!" she exclaimed and Scorpius joined her laughing. To someone who didn't know them, it would seem as though they were old friends, meeting after a long time.

* * *

A/N- Thanks for reading!

R&R!


	3. They drunk

A/N- A special thanks to everyone who is reading this! Would be great to hear your views on this one!

This one is for a very special friend, and if you are reading this- _Happy Birthday! Love you!_

* * *

*One Week Later*

The sun rose after days of playing behind the clouds, not bright enough to hurt the eyes, but smooth them with its heat. Cold winds still blew, making the leaves shiver and fall dead on their parents' feet. It seemed like paradise, with white snow covering everything with its purity. The grass smelled cold, with the lonely roads leading to nowhere. People walking and jogging on sidewalks, in track suits and headphones in ears, and youngsters driving their bicycles with freedom, as cars and big vehicles were waiting in garages for the city to wake.

Winter sunshine fell on her face from the window, which made her groan and turn her face, opposing the window. Her senses soon came back to her. She could feel her body again. She could feel the burning pain in her head which made her furrow her brows and clinch her teeth. She could feel the softness of the sheets underneath her, and warmth of the blankets over her. There was a smell in her sheets, which was odd and engaging, of some kind of mint. She felt oddly comfortable and as she snugged more in her bed, she heard someone moan beside her. Her eyes shot open.

She jumped with a little squeal unaware that someone was accompanying her in her bed.

Her sudden movement and sound made the person beside her fall off the bed, hitting the floor. She peeked over from the bed, to check who was there, and whether or not they were hurt.

There on the floor was Scorpius Malfoy, rubbing the back of his head with one hand and holding his right knee with the other.

She realized that neither was this her room, nor was she supposed to be here.

"Are you alright?" she asked, pitying him.

"What? Yeah... Ouch," he replied, distracted by the pain.

He got up and sat on the end of the bed, examining his knee, though it was covered by his jeans.

There came a moaning sound of a girl at the foot of the bed. Rose tried to remove the blanket from the source of the sound, and found her friend Johanna Brown snuggling in the bed and pulling the blanket again over her head, stubbornly. Rose tried to pull the blanket off her again, but her friend shouted, "Let it go!," at which she pulled with more strength.

"What is it?" came the sleepy voice of Albus Potter from the floor.

Rose looked at him and pouted, for he was looking exactly like a two year old. He was crouching with his head in his own arms, defending the winter winds and drooling over his sweater.

Scorpius was going through the drawers on the other side of the room, finding his hangover potion.

"Found it!" he shouted proudly, but soon regretted as it didn't really helped him with his headache.

"SHUT UP!" Johanna screamed, under her blankets.

Scorpius looked at her and then at Rose, sheepishly.

"Sorry, she is not really a morning person," Rose apologised.

Scorpius went out to divide the potion in four, for all of his friends.

Rose meanwhile woke her cousin, who went to the loo rubbing his eyes, muttering something to himself. She then tried to wake her friend.

"Jo! Wake up!"

"Go away!"

"Scorpius is bringing hangover potion!"

"Screw him!"

"Johanna Brown, you better wake up, NOW!"

And finally, she succeeded with great efforts. The girls then joined Scorpius in the living room. Albus was already there, half-awake, half-asleep.

They all drained the hangover potion, down their throats. Rose then went over to find something in the refrigerator, Scorpius started making hot coffee for everyone, and Johanna and her boyfriend were getting cosy on the sofa.

"You have a lot of healthy food," Rose said to Scorpius with her head still buried in the fridge.

"Because I did the shopping. Your cousin likes very unhealthy material. Pass the milk?" he replied.

"Unhealthy, but tasty," she said passing the milk, at which Scorpius couldn't help but smile.

"You cook?" she asked, examining a can of beans hungrily.

"Yes, and you?" he added.

"Hmmm... Not really. To be honest, Jo is the one who does the cooking," she replied and continued to investigate the fridge for the next ten minutes after which she joined Scorpius in the kitchen.

"Hmm... You have a lot of things common with your cousin, I see," he muttered so Rose couldn't hear, which she didn't, and poured the coffee into four coffee mugs.

They joined the couple at the sofa and each grabbed their mugs and started sipping in small amounts.

"So any of you guys remember what actually happened last night?" Rose said after she took a long sip from her mug. All her friends looked at her like she had grown an extra head or something.

"You don't remember!?" They all said in unison, looking at Rose in awe.

"I guess I had more drinks than you guys," she said proudly, at which Scorpius snorted and said "We could tell."

And her friends jumped in to fill Rose in with the story of the previous night.

* * *

-8pm-

"Oh please join us! This is gonna be amazing!"  
"Parties are not really my thing, Jo. I guess you have to go alone."  
"What if Al ditches me to join his old friends? Then I will be all alone with no one to talk to! Come on Rose!"  
"He is Al Potter! Like he could even _think_ of ditching you! Also, aren't you being a bit too dramatic?"  
"Okay, but I need another female by my side! And you could get fresh air, far from books and work!"  
"Wow! You are actually advising me to go AWAY from books! The girl who stayed up long nights reading and broke though restricted section for them, is-"  
"It was all you, I just accompanied you! And I only stayed up on weekends, but you were up almost every day, except Sundays!"  
"You knew!? Was the torch under the sheet that visible!?"  
"Yeah it was, and that's why I tried to make arrangements so you could get naps, here and there- but DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT!"

"Fine! I'll go! Happy?" Rose snapped, shutting her book, 'Healer's Guide: Advanced', after placing a bookmark which was heavily scribed with complex words and numbers.

"Very," Jo muttered, keeping the thick book in the corner of table, over 'Healer's guide: Beginners', clearing for some space. She then again filled the area with a plate, containing a dark chocolate pastry with beautiful decorations and garnishing, and beamed at Rose. "Try this before you go changing," she added to her red-head friend.

"YOU made it!?" her friend said, in awe. Jo nodded and indicated to Rose to taste it, who picked up the spoon and dug into the treat.

"Now I know why I keep you around."

* * *

-9:30pm-

Rose and her friend apparated to the busy streets of Diagon Alley and headed down a street whose far end had an old shut-down shop where the party was held.

"This seems more of a good murder spot to me," Rose muttered to her friend as they reached the shop. Seeing the shop reminded her of words like 'desert' and 'graveyard', but as she entered, loud music hit her ears, sending her hands to cover them as a reflex defense. The place was crowded with people dancing, drinking, and laughing in groups and circles. It didn't even look close to 'desert', instead more of a party that seemed out of a scene from muggle movies.

Jo was obviously very excited as she didn't really attend many parties due to the fact that she was all goody-two-shoes in Hogwarts. She also did not have a family like Rose, where every family meet seemed like a big party. She belonged to a muggle family and was her parents' only child, with very few cousins by her side. It was a fact that she envied Rose for her family.

They searched for their mates and joined them at a table.

"This has to be the best party ever!" Jo screamed though the noise.

* * *

-10pm-

"DRINK! DRINK! DRINK!"

People were surrounding in a circle, cheering for the drinking competition.

Scorpius was on the right side, and Al on the left.

"JO! JO! JO!.." screamed Al, cheering for his girlfriend.

"ROSE! ROSE! ROSE!..." roared Scorpius for his friend.

Rose and Jo, the innocent Ravenclaws, were drinking so badly that if one of their teachers entered right now, no one would believe it was them.

The four friends were getting awfully drunk as the night went on.

* * *

-10:30pm-

"I am the king! Kneel before me, you filthy people!"

"Rose... you are king? You are a girl…! You can't be-"

"Al, Al, Al... Look at the feeling by which it's said, not the words."

"That's so deeee...eee...eep!" Al sing-songed.

"Hey Al, do you have a cousin by the name of 'Raven'? A letter came, yesterday, here, I forgot to give it to you," came in Scorpius, who wasn't very sober either, holding a letter.

"Graven who...? Oh GRAVY! Yes! Yes! I love gravy!"

"Al! You loved me!" punched Jo.

"Sorry Jo, but food is above it all."

"But gravy what?" Al asked his friend.

"Gravy? Al! I asked 'Raven'! God you have no idea what you are speaking, have you?" replied Scorpius.

"I sent the letter! I AM RAVEN! Teddy calls me Raven! Teddy... I miss him so much!" Rose said, and started sobbing.

"Oh! It's okay Rosie." Al comforted his cousin.

"Who's 'Teddy'?" Scorpius grunted.

"Oh! Teddy Lupin!"

"I miss him soooo much! He is so good! He gets me SO well, and loves me too! He is-" Rose started ranting about her cousin, Ted.

"Teddy Lupin? Is he her boyfriend?" Scorpius asked.

"Oh NO! He is our lovely cousin!"

"Oh! Sorry! Sometimes I forget that more than half the world is your FAMILY!"

"Hmmm... It's not a good sign to forget things... I think you are getting old Scorpy!"

"Already!? No!"

"Poor Scorpy! Rose, you are also old, you sympathize with him! Rose?"

Rose jumped at her name, and flung her arms around Scorpius, hugging him.

"Hey! You two! Stay away! I don't want you idiots to fall in love!" Al said, breaking the hugging couple apart. They moaned as they were forced apart violently.

"You are SO bad, Al!" Rose said punching her cousin.

"Yes! I wouldn't fall in love!" Scorpius said folding his arms.

"You wouldn't...?" came the little voice of Rose.

"'Cause I already love you!" he cheered, smirking and eyeing Al who glared at him.

"Awww..." Rose said, pushing her cousin and entering into the arms of her friend.

"God! Uncle Ron will kill me!" Al said.

* * *

-Present-

"-and then we all moved our group party to Scorpius's room and played 'Truth or Dare' and then we all zoomed out."

All of her friends finished telling the story of the previous night and were looking at Rose, whose mouth was dropped to the floor.

"I... umm… did what?... Hell, drunken Rose is mental!" she finally let out.

Scorpius just smirked as her other friends laughed, and as he got up a voice stopped him.

"Oh and Scorpius!" Rose called and he turned around, smirking.

"I don't love you."

"I wouldn't have thought otherwise."

* * *

A/N- Next one may be a little late, so here is my apology in advance :)

Again, thanks for reading!

R&R!


	4. A trip to the crazy world

**A/N** \- Hello! Hope everyone are enjoying the story!

Here comes another chapter! Have fun!

* * *

The weather seemed nicer and better with birds chiming around and cold breezes, enough to make leaves fall from trees but not to blow them away. Even a nightingale came upon a tree to sing and practice her throat, with streets almost empty as it was one of the working days and people were in their offices and shops.

Knock Knock!

Scorpius was sitting in his apartment reading a mystery novel, enjoying his half day which he took because of a Malfoy family get-together, beginning two hours from now.

He went to the door, wondering who might be there as he wasn't expecting anyone. He opened the door and found his friend in a state between unconsciousness and consciousness.

"Al? Are you drunk?"

"No! That... crazy bitch... she...she...wants to...eat-"

Al dropped himself in his friend's arms, which caught him and supported him.

"Al? Seriously, you are freaking me out! You are okay!?"

"RUN! She will eat us!"

* * *

"Can we see Rose Weasley? It's urgent!"

"Sorry, she is in class right now."

"What, is she a professor or something?"

The woman finally looked up, and was shocked to see Al's condition.

"No, she is a Healer in training and needs to take class to learn, you know," she said to Scorpius like he was a child, at which he rolled his eyes. Then she added in a concerned way, "He needs urgent treatment. Go to floor five."

Albus was in a ward with a healer who had a badge on his coat reading 'Healer Rodge'. Scorpius had nothing to do, so he started to wander around, thinking he could wait for his friend to get well and join his family later. He thought that the meet was an hour and a half from now, and getting there late wouldn't hurt.

He roamed in search of coffee, thinking about what the woman at the counter said. From the conversation he had with Rose, he thought she was already a healer and just wanted a promotion, but now he realized that she was still in training. Was she lying? He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and said to himself,

Stop investigating everyone!

That's when he found a small cafeteria. He went in and got himself a coffee and as he reached the door to exit, he found none other than Rose Weasley entering the cafeteria. As she noticed him, a series of expressions went across her face, progressing from recognition to confusion to worry.

"What are you doing here? Nobody's hurt, right?"

"No, actually, it's Al. He is- Rose?"

"Where is he?" she demanded.

"Fifth floor," he replied and followed her as she hurried to find Al. As they reached the location, he guided her to the room in which Al was stationed.

She burst through the door and went inside while Scorpius stayed at the door wondering if he should join or if only healers were allowed to burst in like that. As Healer Rodge and Albus saw Rose, they started speaking at the same time.

"Rose, save me! He is trying to kill me-"

"Healer Weasley, please go, I am in a middle of-"

Rose, as expected by Scorpius, ignored both of them, and stood by the bed.

"He is my cousin. Now, what happened to him?" she asked the healer.

"Oh, I see. I think Cansonia is what it is. But we have to get him though few tests, to make sure. He has to stay the night as his body is weak. We will give him a few tests when he wakes with an empty stomach tomorrow, as well as a few today..."

Rose's back was towards Scorpius, so he couldn't see her reaction. But she turned around and left the room, passing him as the door closed, automatically. She went straight to the wall opposite the door, and buried her head in her hands as her forehead almost touched the wall. Scorpius reached her, and placed a hand over her shoulder as he asked in a calm voice, even though inside he was freaking out.

"Rose, what happened? What's Cansonia?"

She slowly turned, rubbed her eyes, and finally dropped her hands.

She met his eyes, which had worry plastered in them.

And suddenly, she started laughing. Madly.

Scorpius's hand dropped from her shoulder, as he was a little taken aback.

"Got you!" she said between her laughs.

"God Rose! That's so bad! Please don't do that again, ever!"

She managed an apology between her laughs as she tried to control them.

"Anyways, what's Cansonia?"

"It's the situation which happens when one thinks too much then gets highly exhausted. The worst of this situation is depression, but that's the far conclusion! It happens only to wizards, and is the funniest thing we learned about in our classes, but don't tell Al I said that! Anyways,it sometimes leads to hallucinations when you drink any magical potion while you are worrying. Did he drink something?"

"I don't know... Hold on, so it happened because Al tried to use his brain?" he joked.

"Hey! He is still in hospital!" she protested for her cousin.

"Need I remind you of the joke you made after coming out of the ward?"

"Bloody hell, we are the worst friends ever!"

"No, we are just making life fun. I am sure Al will laugh himself when he gets to know what happened." Rose snorted at that.

"Anyways, I should probably go get Jo. She would want to know about him...does she know?"

"No, she wasn't there when he arrived, and if she did know, do you really think she wouldn't be here right now?"

"Good point. I should go-"

That's when someone called her from behind. She turned and recognised the man who was running towards her with great speed.

"Rose! Healer William is going to give a lecture to all the trainee healers NOW and I HAVE to collect all of them in ten minutes!" he ranted, completely missing Scorpius' presence.

"Need help?" Rose offered.

"Yes! Thank god! Ummm... Okay! Only eleven more to go. You find Sara, Simon, Alex and those three crazy butterflies. I will find the rest and Alison. Meet you in the classroom! Bye!" And with that he was out of there.

Rose turned again towards Scorpius who raised an eyebrow and asked, "Crazy butterflies?"

"The bitches who pretend to be 'girly'," she replied with a smirk and he snorted. She continued,

"Change of plans. You go get Jo. I will be on the other side of the building. If there is anything... important, call me! Ask Betty, the receptionist, if you can't find me, even though there won't be anything urgent happening, but STILL," she ranted and took her right hand out of her healer's white coat, for a shake hand. "Deal?" she added.

"Deal," he replied, accepting her hand.

She started running past Scorpius after a little pat on his shoulder. He turned and called after her, "Where is Jo?"

Rose turned around, walking backwards, she cupped her hands to her mouth and replied, "Home," before she turned back and took a left turn.

* * *

A black crow returned to her home tree, where a baby crow was looking up hopefully at her.

Knock, knock!

Jo opened the door with a muggle TV remote in one hand and the doorknob in the other. As she recognised the man at her door, she subconsciously removed her hand from the knob, causing the door to swing wide open.

"Hey, Scorpius! Did we all decide to meet? Maybe that's why Al is missing, he already went! Sorry but my planner is lost, and I am missing out on all the appointments-" Jo ranted and was interrupted by Scorpius.

Jo was having a really hard time in the office due to her boss who seemed to have a special hatred for her. Once, she stayed up all night to complete an article and when she showed her boss, Mrs. Zabini, she said it was too long, and said to write it again! Jo had nearly quit, but she loved writing and getting a column in Daily Profit by her name was her dream. She didn't want to work for some stupid magazines, and she knew that once she'd get a column she wouldn'thave to work under Mrs Zabini anymore. So, the little group of Al, Rose, and Scorpius decided to have drinks in Diagon Alley with Jo to cheer her up.

"JO! We decided to meet on Saturday. BUT... ummm... it's just..." Scorpius couldn't think of words to tell her that her boyfriend was in the hospital.

"Scorpius... What is it?" she asked, giving him a suspicious look that a mother gives her kid when she finds the cookie jar empty.

"Umm... it's Al... he is kind of in the hospital..."

"Kind of?"

"He is."

"..."

"He is totally fine! Rose says it's nothing, just because of pressure. Jo? You are... white. Look, don't freak out it's-"

But he was interrupted by a loud popping sound, and he found himself alone on the doorstep.

The wind flew past him, making his hair fly towards the right. It was as if nature was laughing at him.

He pulled out his wand and charmed the door to lock, preventing any muggle robbery.

He turned to leave, shaking his head, and muttered, "Why does everyone jump to the worst conclusions?" and with another pop he was also gone, too.

The dark coloured creature flew away, to get food for her kid, who seemed to be sleeping in the nest, high above ground.

* * *

"Again, why is this funny?"

"Bloody hell, Jo! I thought you had good sense of humour!"

"Rose, seriously, I have no idea in what way this is funny!"

"Look, Al is someone who worries about EVERYTHING! You can't make him stop worrying, trust me I've tried. And this Cansonia thing is just like if you came to the Hogwarts Hospital Wing with a headache! Harmless! Really, even if you don't cure it, it doesn't matter, but you have to reduce tension of course. But if we give him few medicines and potions, he may never have hallucinations ever again!"

"He had hallucinations!?"

"Oh... Ummm.. Kind of... But-"

"Oh my god! He is gonna die!"

"Did you just ignore everything I said!?"

The two Ravenclaw friends were interrupted by Scorpius.

"We can see him now."

The three friends entered the ward to see Al lying on his bed looking at the ceiling of the room. Jo looked at him and threw Rose a glare that clearly said, 'You said he was fine!'

They seated themselves near his bed and he removed his eyes from the ceiling to look at them.

"Thinking something, buddy?" Scorpius joked.

Al looked at Scorpius, a little taken aback, and closed his eyes to add a little dramatic effect to his reply.

"You don't care that your friend is gonna die, do you?"

Jo raised an eyebrow at that, Scorpius snorted, and Rose rolled her eyes.

"You are not gonna die!" they said in unison.

"Then why am I having images of Jo as a zombie chasing me to kill?"

Everyone in the room fell silent. They simply stared at him and he stared back.

Then everyone, including Al, started laughing so hard that Healer Rodge actually came in to check on them. They all tried to speak but couldn't help but crack up here and there.

"It seemed serious in my head!" (Al)

"Jo was a zombie?" (Rose)

"That 'bitch' was Jo?" (Scorpius)

"I get to kill you?" (Jo)

* * *

They spent the next hour talking about the whole situation and Al was the one who was laughing the hardest.

"Told you it is funny! The hallucinations you get in this are always crazy!" said Rose.

"That reminds me, what were you thinking about?" Jo asked.

Al's ears turned red and he shared a look with his friend, whose expression changed as realisation came upon him.

"Aah... Just, you know... work and family," Al said.

Rose looked at her cousin and at her new friend closely and mentally nodded her head.

Jo figured it was something between the boys and let it drop.

"Well... I should probably go, I have to get to class."

Rose stood up and as she reached the door, a voice stopped her.

"Rose!"

She turned. "Yes, Scorpius?"

"Umm... There is something I need to ask you."

"Don't cross boundaries, and I will answer truly."

"I thought you were a healer, like professionally, but you are a... trainee." He gave an expression as if expecting her to blast.

Rose looked at him, and then her other friends, who not only looked curious, but also hopeful.

"Come on! I ranted about me being trainee after we watched that stupid horror movie! Did you honestly tune out?" Rose said with a snort, expecting him to disagree, but he didn't.

"You know what? Never mind! It's your job, not mine! Sorry to disturb!" Scorpius gave the clever reply.

"Oh no! Wait! You don't tune out when I talk! As a friend you gotta listen to the shit I say!"

"See! Even you agree that was shit!"

"Don't play with words! Jo, Al, back me up here!"

They looked at Rose hopelessly.

"You two didn't have any idea what I do either! You JUST got to know, right?"

"Well... now it makes sense why you have tests and exams..." Jo muttered.

"I heard that! God, my friends are hopeless! Bloody hopeless!" she huffed waving her hands above her head and stormed out of the room.

There was silence in the room, and soon Jo decided to break it.

"Aah... Look! I brought the TV remote with me! Scorpius! Could you please drop it off at home?"

Scorpius stood up and raised his hands in surrender, after taking the remote.

"Fine! I know you want me gone, I'll go!" he said, and Al winked at him. "Anyways, I have to go to my parents place for a family get-together and I am already two hours late," he added, rolling his eyes. He stood up and went outside the room as Al called after him,

"Have fun with blondies, blonde-y!"

* * *

 **A/N** \- Thats it! Hopefully, next one will be soon this time!

R&R!


	5. Family meet

Hello! I know it's too late and I apologise for that. To make up I will try to bring the next one faster (and maybe longer too!)

Hope you like this one!

* * *

-12 years before-

The red train was at its best speed, moving toward a castle of everyone's dreams.

"There has got to be a compartment without any of my family!" whispered the little red-head determinedly to herself.

Her luggage was in the compartment where her cousin Dominique was, as she offered to help. Rose, then, took one of her favourite books and started to find a compartment with silence and peace.

She opened a compartment and found her cousins James and Fred with a first year. They were smiling from ear to ear, and one could tell something mischievous was going to happen.

They nodded, and the first year boy drank something in a small bottle. Suddenly, his black hair turned bright yellow and his nose started bleeding. The two boys started laughing hard, while the boy looked at them in confusion.

"Yes, James. I think it's expired" Fred said as he took the little bottle away from him.

Rose rolled her eyes and continued searching for a peaceful compartment.

She opened another compartment, which seemed quiet and almost normal. Her cousin, Albus Potter, and a blonde boy looked up at her, as she stood at the compartment door, and exclaimed,

"Seriously, is our family production that large!" before exiting the compartment.

She could hear Al apologising for his 'crazy family' as she left.

She opened the compartment beside the one Al was in and found a brown haired girl holding her shoes up by the shoelaces as they burned in flames.

Rose felt really happy to find a compartment almost empty, as well as with no relatives.

"Can I help?" she offered to the brown hair girl, who smiled and nodded.

"I was just cleaning them, I have no idea how they caught fire..." she explained, sheepishly.

Rose took out her wand and counter cursed the shoes. The brown haired girl dropped them on the floor, and flashed a smile at Rose, who returned it with equal enthusiasm.

"Thank you!"

"Oh don't worry about it!"

"Sorry, my- is that Hogwarts: a History!?" she exclaimed at the book in Rose's hands.

Rose nodded and showed her.

The girl smiled as if her birthday had come and shifted aside so Rose could look at the giant book on the seat. Hogwarts: a History.

Rose felt overjoyed to find someone who liked books too.

"Rose Weasley," she said, stretching out a hand for a hand shake.

"Johanna Brown," replied the girl, accepting her hand.

* * *

-Present-

"Do you think this book is dead?" asked the red-head boy to his sister.

It was Christmas holidays. Rose's best days, where she would spend time with her crazy, large family, all gathered at the Burrow. Last year, the house was made bigger as Teddy married, her cousin Dom got engaged, and many little ones too had someone special to bring over. But this wasn't just a matter of them being big in numbers. There were yet many things that happened in the house. The house also needed space for kids to run. James and Fred were the only ones who somehow could never grow up. Their tricks always targeted someone who would take revenge, and Weasley-Potter revenges are never good. Sooner and later, there was a war going with two teams. All cousins would divide themselves and play tricks on each other.

This was a usual family get-together for the Weasley family.

"No, dumbo. I guess it's been a long time you have seen a book that doesn't scream."

"Don't you find these books boring?"

"Don't you find studying about magical creatures boring?"

"Actually, I don't. It's weird that many people asked me the same question, isn't it? In fact, I am pretty sure Dad thinks I got my screw lose."

"Well, he is not the only one."

"You are so right! I had a girlfriend once who actually gave me a Healer's number before she broke up with me."

"Seriously!?"

"Yes!"

"Why didn't you tell me? I would've shone her who is crazy!"

"Rosie! I love it when you play the big protective sister but I may have bored her..."

"Hugo, what did you do?"

"I may have explained to her a bit about the dragon Uncle Charlie gave me."

"Uncle Charlie gave you a DRAGON!?"

"What? Oh no- no he didn't- haha I was just kidding!"

"Hugo..."

"Okay fine, don't tell Mom and Dad, but I kept it in my room for three years! Only he knew about this! And now you, and that girl."

"Hold on. THREE years!"

"They grow really slowly. Expensive breed, you see. Those were the years when you went to Hogwarts and I was left alone with mom and dad."

"No wonder you loved Hagrid. I thought you were gay!"

"Hey, don't be rude! Uncle Charlie gave it to me because he thought I would feel lonely, 'cause my red dragon was off to a place called Hogwarts!"

"Did you just call me dragon? Forget that, did you just say you got it as areplacement for me?"

"Kind of..."

"Oh my god! Hugo, I will definitely consult Head Healer for you."

"Come on! You were the only one who always supported me!"

"I do support you, Hu. But can you really expect me not to tease you?"

"Of course not. You are, after all, a Weasley."

"Yes, and so are you, so go run before-"

"ROSE, HUGO! Why don't you two de-gnome the garden? All your cousins have some excuse for themselves and many are yet to arrive. It's important you see, we are going to set the dining table in garden, and we don't want gnomes to disturb our guests, do we? So go, chop-chop! Set to work!" said Rose's grandmother to her and her brother, hands covered with flour.

Their faces dropped as the siblings shared a pitying look.

She turned and as she almost reached the kitchen, she called them again.

"Umm… Hugo!" she called.

Hugo's eyes lit up for he thought it would be something good.

"Would you be able to do it alone? I need a little help from Rosie with the frosting," said Granny.

Hugo's face fell as Rose jumped to help her grandmother.

"Oh he can, Granny! Let me help you with-"

"Oh no, Rose. You go help your brother, I will help Grandma," said Hermione bossily. "I am not telling you to clean the toilet, dear, then why that face?" she added.

Rose rolled her eyes and excused herself to grab her jacket. Hugo followed behind her.

She groaned as she zipped the jacket while Hugo was having trouble finding his 'favourite jacket' that he brought with him.

"Come on, Rosie! Mum is just tired!"

"And here comes the momma's boy to save his mommy!"

"Rooosie! I am just saying...!"

They went down-stares and went straight to the garden to set to work.

* * *

-12 years before-

Everyone was pushing their way in, hurrying as the engine started.

Scorpius waved his parents goodbye until they disappeared from eyesight. Then he soon found an empty compartment. He placed his trunk under the seat and started staring out the window.

Few trees, few houses, few farms passed and soon there was knock on the door andit swiftly slid open.

"Will you mind if I sit?"

"Course not!" he said grinning.

"I am Albus Potter, by the way. But call be Al or I will kill you."

"I'm Scorpius Malfoy. You can call me Scorpius."

"Oh, Merlin! Do you think I will be a Slytherin? I hope not! I mean no offence, but they are SO evil!"

"Why would I take offence?"

"I don't know. It's just your family history is full of Slytherins..."

"Please don't judge me by my family, I am not them and they are not me. My father did whatever he could to stay alive for his family."

"Bloody hell, you are judging ME by my family! I am not going to hate you because you are a Malfoy!"

"Well, that's good. By the way, I don't think you will make a good Slytherin, more of a good Hufflepuff… Hey, hey! Don't kill me, I was just kidding!"

Suddenly, a girl with furious red hair came in with a gentle knock.

She had freckles all over her nose, fair skin, hair that was wildly tied with a rubber-band and a large thick book in her arms which she hugged to her chest. She was already in her school robes and had a nerdy, tired, bored expression. The moment she saw Al, however, her expressions changed in a blink of an eye into irritated, frustrated, angered and tired. She twitched her left eye, unconsciously.

She huffed and screamed,

"Seriously, is our family production that large!"

She turned around stamping her right foot. Due to such sudden change in course, her hair leaked from the knot.

"Sorry about that. Did I tell you how crazy my family was?"

Scorpius was noticing the red head, who rolled her eyes.

"Al, she heard you!" he said to his new friend.

"That's alright! We all fight, all the time...! But at the end of the day we come back to each other..."

Scorpius smiled and Al gave him a warning look.

"You know, we are also overly protective towards each other."

"Oh dear! Don't take me wrong, I just like observing people! I know I am weird!"

"So, what's your top Quidditch score?"

"How do you know I play, maybe I have never touched a broom yet?"

"I can tell that you do, guess we'll have a good competition, then!"

"If we are not sorted into the same house..."

* * *

-Present-

"-I bet he was dead, but then if you smell him and look at his feet going green, you can tell he is kidding around with you."

"Seriously, what breed is that creature! He can stop his HEART!?"

Rose and Hugo entered the house again as Ginny, Hermione, Ron and Harry started setting the tables and crockery.

"ROSE WEASLEY! Tell me if it hasn't been centuries not seeing you!" Ted exclaimed, hugging Rose.

"Haven't gotten over the habit of exaggerating, I see!" Rose teased him.

"What's that? Your new friend teaching you detective skills?"

"Al told you about Scorpius?"

"He did indeed, with help of his new 'girlfriend'"

"Wait- Jo's here, too!?"

"Yes. Fred is telling her stories about 'Baby Al'!"

"Let the war begin!"

Rose went around the house meeting all her cousins.

"Hugo, how is life!? All good going!?"

"Hello, James! Yes, actually, more than fine! Jess is pregnant!"

"Jess? Don't tell me she is your girlfriend!"

"Remember I told you and your girlfriend about that new breed of dragon last year?"

Last year, Hugo told James's girlfriend about magical creatures for three straight hours! James was so busy having a Quidditch match with his cousins, that when he discovered it was too late. She sneaked out of the house and when James tried to stop her, she refused, saying his family needed a Healer's opinion. Later, Hugo confessed it was his fault and that he was sorry about it, but James was James, andhe planned a revenge against Hugo with Fred.

Naïve Hugo was casually talking with James, who was actually distracting him so Fred could do the real prank.

"How can I forget... Hold it- you kept her name?"

"I know! But I feel sad, you see, they grow REALLY fast and have a very little life span."

Fred threw a jelly towards James, who caught it and shoved it in his mouth.

"Don't worry buddy! You will be fine!" James said to Hugo with an evil smirk as heplaced a hand on his shoulder.

Hugo was suddenly hit with an electric-shock, as he stood stiff then fell. With Hugo's fall, James and Fred's faces fell. Oh no.

* * *

-12 years earlier-

The large metal brown double doors opened, revealing the Great Hall. The hall Rose dreamt about in her dreams, since she could remember. There were four tables sorted by house where many students were already sitting. There were shining gold plates and goblets in front of each student. The teachers' table was at the top of the hall. A few of the professors were smiling at the first years, a few were giving them a daring look. Rose tried to ignore the looks she was getting from many students. Being the daughter of two of the golden trio, was not always helping.

The most amazing and exciting thing was the ceiling of the hall. It seemed as thoughthe hall had no roof and showed a beautiful sky, but Rose had read and was also told that there was indeed a roof and it was bewitched. There were thousands candles flowing high above their heads, in midair.

They were made to stand in the middle of hall, in two straight lines.

Rose's cousin, Albus, was standing beside her in the other row behind his new blonde friend. Behind Rose, was Jo, who looked around in awe and wonder. She was a muggle born so it must be a totally different experience for her, Rose thought.

All the tiny first years looked quite nervous and so was Rose.

A tall, old, skinny lady that led them to the hall stood beside a stool that had an old, worn-out hat. It looked as if it had been through many wars and battles. And maybe it had.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, a place you will always be welcome. The place where you would know how special you are. Now, it's time for sorting, the moment you will know in which place you belong. As you know there are four houses; Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff. Each house has its own significance and will be more than proud to have you. Your houses will be like your family. Now, let the sorting begin!" said the old lady, Professor Ikre. Each house cheered for the tiny ones.

The hat on the stool suddenly started singing, forming a line few centimetres aboveits edge that looked like its mouth.

Rose already knew what the hat sang.

Brave; be a Gryffindor.

Ambitious; be a Slythrins.

Intelligence; be a Ravenclaw.

Loyal; be a Hufflepuff.

This was the greatest test of any wizard because they get what they deserve truly. No cheating, all fair.

Professor Ikre unfolded a scroll and started calling names.

The first was,

"Brown, Johanna"

She was almost shaking with sudden attention. She nervously went and sat on the stool like a three year old.

The moment the hat touched her head, it screamed,

"RAVENCLAW!"

She looked close to tears as she beamed at Rose and went to join her new family.

Many names were called. Rose waited patiently for her turn and also for her cousin's.

Soon, she heard the words.

"Potter, Albus."

All the hall went in 'aah's and 'ooh's, while he nervously went to the hat.

It took a minute after which it screamed,

"SLYTHERIN!"

Rose gasped, as everyone cheered except James and Fred, who were shouting; "Traitor!"

Albus looked at everyone, smiling nervously. His blonde friend gave him a low thumbs up to cheer him up as he went to join the green table.

"Malfoy, Scorpius"

Rose looked closely as he went near the hat and placed it on his head.

They seemed to have a conversation amongst themselves.

"Aah, another Malfoy! Great strength I see... clever too... but I think you'd better be-"

"SLYTHERIN!"

There was a unique expression for a milli-second where he looked shocked but then pride flew across his face as he joined Albus who patted his back.

Then it was-

"Weasley, Rose."

Rose lost the knowledge of walking after hearing her name. Soon, she gulped and made her way from the crowd.

The hat was placed above her head, and it seemed to be talking to her. She was glad no one else could hear what it said.

"Aah... intelligence just like your mother. Also brave as ever. Red would suit you... you have the ability to achieve great things like your parents... but I think it better be-"

"RAVENCLAW "

Rose seemed confused. The hat was saying she could be good Gryffindor, yet she was placed in Ravenclaw? She smiled broadly and joined Jo, who was now at the edge of her chair from excitement.

Soon the ceremony was over and the headmistress, Professor McGonagall, announced-

"Let the feast begin!"

* * *

-Present-

"JAMES AND FRED! DO WE TEST PRODUCTS ON HUMANS?"

"No..."

"JAMES?"

"No, Grandma..."

"YOU ARE ADULTS AND GROWN UPS! DO I HAVE TO REMIND YOU THAT EVERY SECOND!?"

"We were-"

"I didn't-"

"George? George! You PROMISED me something, remember?"

"That I will not let them test our products on family, I know, Mum."

Then he turned to face them and said, "James, Fred? I am so disappointed in you two. If there comes a next time, I will fire you two, so hide it better next time! You get me?"

James and Fred smirked, as their grandmother rolled her eyes and shoved the back of her son's head.

Rose was checking Hugo, who was now awake and angry. His face was red with fury and his mind was full of ways he could get revenge on them.

"He is fine, just needs an anger management potion, I guess," Rose announced to everyone, smirking at Hugo.

"You all better go find a good hiding place because my revenge is not going to be easy to handle!" he screamed at his cousins, and his sister, who was now also guilty in his eyes.

"We better stop taking all these revenges or soon we will end up dead, murdered by each other," she joked. Or did she?

* * *

A/N- I have to say, I am really jealous of Rose! I always wanted a huge family with crazy relatives! But all I got is a overly mature one! I feel everyone deserve's the Weasley family, after all week of hard work, on needs crazy people to make them laugh.

As my favourite characters in Hp series were Fred and George, so now after the tragic, I felt like my humor may get lost in the story. So I found James and Fred to be our next Gred and Feorge! ;)

Speaking of which, I can proudly say now that I have already half written the next one!

R&R!


	6. Unknown known

A/N- Hello! I know I am late for this one even though I said it would be up soon, BUT there is a very valid reason why I didnt update! And that reason is- I forgot!

Oh my goodness! I am so sorry! I had this written with me all this time! You must be cursing me, and that's fair! (A bit too harsh but yes, fair!). But here it is now!

Anyways, I better shut up now!

Happy reading!

* * *

-Present-

Scorpius stepped into the hospital's cafe, looking for his best friend. As soon as he found her, his eyes lit up as he hurried near her.

"Rose Weasley! What's this? Your friends ditched you?"

"No, I wanted some time alone to read," she replied, focusing on the word 'alone'.

"Aah... You ditched them!"

"No one is ditching anyone, Scorpius."

"Oh right. Sorry, I took you wrong. How can Rose Weasley ditch someone!" he said with sarcasm.

"I never ditched you in Diagon Alley! I told you I got lost in the crowd!"

"Well, lost people are not found eating ice cream!"

"Do I really have to go through this again? I got attracted by that while I was searching for you!"

"You do know I am never going to believe your I-got-lost story?"

"Yes, of course, you have taken oath to never agree with me, so how could you now? So what are you doing here? You should be at work."

"I hate ministry food, and thought to drop by for a cup of tea or coffee and also grace you with my presence."

"I told you I wanted a little time with my book, so I guess you should probably have your meal alone, though I have to agree meals in this hospital are remarkable."

"Oh come on, weasel! There is a world outside books! You know, as your best friend it is my duty to make sure you are physically, mentally and SOCIALLY well. It won't hurt to live a little, will it? Besides, you have spent your life reading enough to-"

"OKAY! If I join you for lunch, will you stop speaking?"

"I knew you wouldn't say no!"

* * *

-10 years before-

The class was dull as Professor Binns was giving a lecture that no one was listening to, except Rose who was listening with grave concentration.

Johanna Brown was writing something on her parchment that didn't look like notes but was pretty long. She bit a side of her pencil, looking at her work and thinking deeply, before again writing furiously.

Rose and Jo were made to sit in the last seats by Professor Binns who wanted the last row to come to thefront so they could concentrate more. Rose hated sitting at the back, she had to pay extra attention to figure out the professor's words. Plus, everyone in the last row was sleeping. Literally sleeping!

Albus Potter was passing notes with Steven, his other Slytherin fellow. Albus was sitting diagonal to Rose, a row ahead, between Steven, who sat in front of Rose, and a blonde on the other side. A brown haired girl was looking at Professor Binns with a bored expression, somewhere between awake andasleep, her right hand supporting her head.

A strange black haired boy had a Rubik's cube and was solving it with his tongue sticking out in determination. Another boy had a book from the library and was reading it. Many were asleep, andmany would be soon, or so it seemed.

Rose then noticed the blonde haired boy sitting on Al's right side. The blonde had a pencil between his fingers which he spun and did tricks with lamely while staring at the teacher. He did it with such ease, like a person walking. He was a natural, Rose thought. She bent down and took a pencil out of her bag to try it herself. She tried and failed. Then she looked closely at how he did it, the path it moved, the movement of fingers.

She must be staring hard, because the blonde felt a gaze upon himself and straightened before puttingthe pencil down.

Rose looked at her pencil and gave it another go. And another. Another.

She must be doing something wrong! She looked at him again to observe better this time. She was surprised as she found him looking back in her direction with a raised eyebrow. He must have felt me staring, Rose thought as she mentally kicked herself. She was utterly embarrassed and her face turned red while the blonde just smirked and pointed toward the teacher as if telling her to pay attention before he again looked forward.

Her embarrassment suddenly changed into fury and anger. How dare he tell her to pay attention while he hadn't been listening the whole class! Besides, he was the reason Rose got distracted in the first place!

She threw the pencil on the desk furiously. It was weird, but somehow the pencil bounced and hit Al.

"OKAY! Who was that!?" Al glared angrily at the last row students, who looked at him questioningly still in sleep.

He seemed scary, enough for Rose to lose her brains.

"Seriously, have some manners!" she fake supported her cousin.

"Okay, everyone! I don't want any arguments here or I will have to deduct points against my will," Professor Binns threatened and continued with his lecture like he hadn't been interrupted.

The blonde boy picked up the pencil that had fallen on the floor and looked at the red head.

He raised an eyebrow and threw another smirk, which again embarrassed Rose yet angered her, too.

* * *

-Present-

"-then he said, I would never let anyone touch this plant. It's a precious one that deserves extra care. Then he accidentally touches it, and then the next thing you know he is crying and begging for itsapology!" Rose finished her story, animatedly. Scorpius laughed along.

Rose had no idea why was he even listening to her stories, when no one else ever did. Rose felt good to have someone around who actually had interest in her talks.

"Oh I almost forgot! I brought you donuts!"

"Scorpius, you bring me food and you are always welcome here!"

"Are you trying to say you want me here every day 'cause my company is irresistible to you?"

"Well, I am resisting!" she said after folding her arms and giving him a give-me-food-NOW-'cause-I-don't-like-games look.

He smirked and gave her the donuts. She immediately opened the box and dug in.

"I think you got distracted. You were telling me something..."

"Oh, I almost forgot! I was telling you about our professor who taught us herbal remedies."

Then Scorpius again tuned out and started looking at her face closely.

She had big eyes that showed emotions and thoughts more than her mouth could. She made different expressions while telling the moment when she was outsmarted by someone anonymous in Hogwarts.

"-then he was flicking his blonde hair like 'Yeah! Take that, another stupid cousin of Potter' and all I wanted was to hit him right across his stupid pale face-"

"He sounds remarkably like me..."

"His hair was a little more blonde than yours. Plus do you really think you can outsmart me?"

"That's your judgement that it's not me? I find both reasons invalid. For all I know it was me! Sorry but again how did he outsmart you?"

* * *

-9 years before-

Jo and Rose entered the class talking about how irritating their roommates, Shelly Howard and Rebecca Worthy, were.

"I seriously wonder why they are Ravenclaws!"

"Maybe the sorting hat is getting worn out..."

"Or maybe they have brains very, very, very deep inside, that only a sorting hat could ever know."

"Or maybe they had brains in first year before they got shifted to our dorm?"

"Maybe they gave the sorting hat a love potion, too?"

"I knew they had experience. I bet their boyfriends are receiving high doses!"

They pushed the door open and saw all the seats gone. Like always, there weren't any tables, chairs or blackboard. The room was empty and looked like an old room whose furniture was yet to be shifted.

There, Professor Lupin, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, was standing in the middle of the front of the room, wand in his hands. Rose greeted him with a huge grin and Ted couldn't help but smile back.

"We are going to learn how to duel, today!" he announced, excitedly.

Everyone shared a look with their friends, smirking and mentally saying, 'Go kill all your enemies!'

Rose looked at her friend and found her looking at someone on the other side of the room with a scared expression. Her eyes were wide and her mouth parted as her eyebrows shot up. Rose followed her gaze and saw her cousin Al with the blonde haired boy. Rose admitted she almost died.

Albus must have felt their gaze as they were not the only ones staring. He pretty much had the whole class's attention.

"I am gonna kill James and Fred!" he said angrily and they all started laughing, which angered him more.

Rose shared a look with Ted, who was apparently enjoying this more than he should. Rose raised an eyebrow at him to remind him he was the teacher. Ted got the message and coughed before silencing the class.

"So I will assign the partners."

Jo was partnered with Steven, one of Al's friends, and Rose got Al.

Rose smirked at him as Al mentally cursed for the day getting worse. Now he had to duel with her brainy cousin, who had ninety nine chances to win.

They were taught new spells, which Rose had already read in books, but it felt really nice to actually perform them. Rose easily won four times out of five.

Albus then excused himself for few minutes and went to a blonde fellow who immediately broke into laughter after seeing Albus heading towards him with his blonde hair. Albus shoved the back of his friend's head as he reached him and whispered in his ear,

"Let's change partners."

"Was your partner giving you hard time?" the blonde replied smirked at his hair.

"Just go! She is waiting in a corner of the class!"

"Okay, you owe me one buddy."

The blonde boy made his way across the room, passing through many dueling kids.

Then he saw a red haired girl waiting, leaning on a wall, looking at her feet, bored.

"Are you Al's partner?"

She looked up at him.

"Yes. He sent you take his place, didn't he?"

"Yes, the blonde did indeed," he replied with a smirk.

Rose smiled and gave out a laugh.

"Okay. Let's see what you got!"

* * *

-Present-

"-and then I won the duel!" Scorpius shouted.

"No you didn't! You won three and I won two! Just one more than I did!"

"Oh, had I known before you were the one who lost!"

"Oh, I am never going to hear the end of this!"

"Of course you are not! As a friend, it's my duty-"

"-to remind me of all my failures?"

He grinned and nodded.

"That's it! I am going to class."

"But why? My break isn't over for-" he checked his watch and continued, "fifteen minutes!"

"Well, that's a disappointment, isn't it?" she replied with a smirk and got up to leave.

Then she remembered something and turned around to say one last thing.

"Umm...Scorpius? It's just- it was... nice to have you here."

He looked into her eyes and smiled which soon turned into a smirk.

She mentally cursed herself for not recognizing that smirk! His smirk is so unique, she could have connected dots that the blonde-duel-master was Scorpius Malfoy!

The smirk made her break out of her dreams, and she coughed to cover her awkwardness.

"I mean, because of the donuts. Don't think into it!" she said again, turning to leave because she didn't want him to see her blush.

Which he did.

* * *

-Next day-

Rose was sitting in the hospital's cafe, sipping her coffee. She was reading a mystery novel which she borrowed from Scorpius. He had many of them as reading them always gave him great pleasure. Rose was reading a really crucial part where the author revealed how the murderer killed the victim, but for some reason her heart wasn't into it.

Some part of her said to herself it was because she was hoping Scorpius would come here again, and he wasn't here. She hoped she could concentrate on the book, but the fact that this book was in his hands too once didn't really helped her.

'STOP BEING SO SNAPPY, WEASLEY!' she mentally cursed herself.

She almost lost faith in him and gave up, when Scorpius finally showed up. He looked tired and exhausted but managed to smile when he saw Rose.

"Sorry for being late. My boss was planning to kill me by paperwork!"

"Well, you are alive, aren't you?"

"Well, after you oh-so-shyly told me to come here daily because you liked my presence, how can I be dead and miss lunch with you?"

"Oh, shut up!"

* * *

I may be late for upcoming chapters! So sorry in advance!

R&R!


End file.
